Fireworks
by kaibasgirlx
Summary: In America, we celebrate a War of Independence. In the Fire Nation, they celebrate a different kind of war.


**Fireworks**

"Zuko, wait up!"

"C'mon Azula, walk faster!"

"I can't, my legs are starting to hurt!"

The young prince scowled and waited impatiently as his sister caught up to him.

"C'mon, let's go." He said, taking her by the hand and resuming at a slightly calmer pace.

"Where are we going?" Azula asked, as she tried to keep up.

Zuko turned to her with a wide smile on his face. "Just you wait Azula, you're gonna love it!"

"Aren't we supposed to meet up with cousin Lu Ten?" The small princess inquired, as they passed many civilians on the crowded streets. It struck her as peculiar that so many people were milling around at this hour; it was already after nightfall. "Is there some kind of festival going on?"

"Nope!" Zuko's smile broadened. "Well, it's kind of like a festival, but not exactly. You'll see, Azula. Mom and Dad gave me permission to bring you along this year." His voice was filled with pride.

"Bring me along to where?" The girl queried, as she began to hear loud bangs in the distance, along with cheers. "What's going on?"

"You were too little to stay up so late last year, and the year before, but I convinced Mother that you were old enough, and Dad thought it was a good idea for you to come and see it," Zuko prattled on, oblivious to his sister's growing frustration.

"See what?" Azula practically exploded.

Zuko stopped and grinned, pointing. "That," he said, pointing towards the sky.

Azula followed her brother's gaze and her eyes widened as she witnessed the explosion of sound and color that danced across the sky.

"Those are called fireworks," Zuko explained proudly, as they began to maneuver through the crowd. "They have these every year, on this day."

"Zuko! Azula! Over here!"

The two siblings turned to see their cousin calling and waving to them.

"Lu Ten!" Azula exclaimed happily, letting go of her brother's hand and bounding forward.

"Hey Azula, you got to stay up this year?" Lu Ten looked at his younger cousin.

"I convinced mom and dad," Zuko replied smugly from behind his sister.

"Awesome! Zuko, guess what I found?"

"What?" Zuko asked, noticing the familiar gleam in the older boy's eyes.

"Tons and tons of exploding jelly!"

"Where? !" Zuko asked excitedly.

"Over by the stage, where they're _supposed_ to be starting the fireworks, but they're late this year, _again_." Their cousin explained. "They let a few explode as a tease, but that's it so far. So, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"What are you thinking?" Azula asked innocently.

Zuko turned to his sister with all the mischief a five-year-old could put behind a smile. "This is one of the best parts of coming! The adults left tons and tons of exploding jelly that no one's using, and they're late again in starting the fireworks, so Lu Ten and me are gonna set some off by ourselves! Wanna help?"

"Yeah!" Azula cried excitedly.

The three royals quickly stole away to where their fun time awaited. Azula was in charge of making sure the coast was clear, as the two boys snuck off with a box of the volatile stuff.

"Hurry up!" The small girl urged. "I think I see someone coming!"

"Alright, we got it. Boy, this box sure is heavy!" Zuko panted, as they set the cargo on the ground between them.

"Okay, let's set this stuff off!" Lu Ten exclaimed with mad excitement, as he began to pry the lid off.

All three were so absorbed in what they were doing, that they failed to notice the shadow that fell over them, until the person spoke.

"Lu Ten! There you are!" Iroh appeared in front of them. "What's that you have there?"

"Nothing!" All three children hurried to say, as they nimbly stepped in front of the box, obscuring it from view.

"Oh?" Iroh arched an amused brow. "Well, if it's nothing, then why are you hiding it?"

"Because...because..." Zuko cast his eyes around for some inspiration, but found none.

"Because we don't, um..." Lu Ten began, as his father stared down at him.

They were saved from the task of giving an explanation by the timely sound of a loud crack that resonated in the air.

"Ah, the fireworks are starting! Come, Lu Ten, let's go find your mother and watch them!" He bent down and scooped his son onto his shoulders, just as another loud crack boomed across the sky.

"Wait, Lu Ten!" Zuko exclaimed with a pointed look.

"Oh, right, we'll do it later, okay?"

"Do what later?" Iroh asked.

"Nothing, dad," Lu Ten grinned like a Cheshire cat.

Iroh frowned and looked at his niece and nephew for an explanation.

"Um...ah..."

"Lu Ten was just going to show us how to make a good cup of tea, Uncle Iroh," Azula piped up. "But I guess we'll just have to wait until later."

"Hmmm..." Iroh looked at his niece shrewdly before saying, "Lu Ten, giving away the family secret?"

"Of course not, dad. Just...showing them what quality brewed tea tastes like!"

Iroh grinned. "That's my boy. Zuko, Azula, you should hurry up and find your parents, the fireworks are about to begin."

"Right!"

"Okay!"

As father and son walked away, Lu Ten turned around to face his cousins and gave them a wink along with a thumbs up.

"Nice save, Azula," Zuko commented, as he returned the gesture. "Can't believe Uncle Iroh fell for it."

"I know," Azula giggled. "And where'd Lu Ten come up with that line?"

Both siblings laughed.

"C'mon, let's go find mom and dad, the fireworks are gonna start. You've got to see them, they're so cool!"

"Okay!"

Taking his sister's hand once more, the older boy started searching for their parents, the box of exploding jelly completely abandoned.

As more bangs resounded in the sky, the two royals were still unable to locate their parents.

"Hey, Zuko," Azula asked, when they stopped for a few minutes to watch the colorful display. "What are we celebrating for?"

Zuko grinned at her. "We're celebrating, cause today is the day great-grandfather Sozin started the 100 year war, and got rid of all the Air Nomads."

"Really?"

"Yep!" The boy nodded his head. "And you know how he did it?"

"How?"

"Cause a hundred years ago, there was something called a comet, which is sorta like the sun, but better, and it gave him all these cool firebending powers!"

"Wow!"

"And cause of that, he was able to get rid of all the Airbenders and start the war! And you know what else?"

"What?"

Zuko leaned in close to his little sister and whispered, "Soon, the Fire Nation is going to get rid of the Earthbenders and Waterbenders, and we'll rule over the whole world!"

Azula's eyes shone with excitement. "The whole world?"

"The whole entire world. And you know what that means, right?"

"Uncle Iroh gets to have all the tea he wants?"

Both stared at each other for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter, sharing a private joke.

"There you two are!"

Zuko turned at the sound of the voice, and his face lit up. "Hi, mom! Look, I brought Azula with me, and she's not tired yet!"

"You've been keeping her safe?" Ozai asked, appearing beside his wife.

"Yeah dad, and we met up with cousin Lu Ten, like you said to, and then Uncle Iroh came and told us to find you because the fireworks were starting," Zuko finished happily.

Ozai laid a hand on his son's head, nodding in approval. Zuko beamed.

Another bang interrupted the tender moment, as Azula tugged on her father's robes.

"Daddy, daddy, we're missing the fireworks!"

"Right, let's go watch them," Ursa said with a gentle smile, as she took her son by the hand.

Streaks of red and gold blazed across the sky, as the family of four watched the explosions, along with the rest of the nation, their hearts filling with pride for their country and their heritage.

"Did you see that one, Azula? !"

"Yeah! Look at that one, Zuko, that one's so cool!" The princess pointed from atop her father's shoulders.

"Here comes the big finale," Ursa said, her arms wrapped around the little boy in her lap.

"WOW...!"

"Zuko, you were right, that was the coolest!" Azula exclaimed, as they began to walk home. She covered her mouth with her hand as a yawn managed to escape.

"It looks like someone's ready for bed," Ursa chuckled.

The princess nodded, closing her eyes as she leaned against her father's chest. Then, as though remembering something, she scrambled down from his hold and went over to her brother.

"Zuko, we forgot about the exploding jelly!" She said in a stage whisper, so their parents wouldn't hear.

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about it, Azula, I bet you Lu Ten forgot about it also. We can ask him tomorrow."

"Okay."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, as the prince himself let out a yawn.

"Hey Zuko?"

"Hmmm...?"

"Thanks for convincing mom and dad to let me come this year. You were right, I really did love it."

Zuko chuckled and put his arm around his sister, pulling her into a slight embrace. "That's what big brother's like me are for."

_~Fin_

* * *

_A/N: Just a sweet moment between the two siblings. Azula is about three or four, Zuko is about five. This actually occurred to me last night, when they were setting off a whole bunch of fireworks in preparation for today._

_Originally I was going to make this an angsty kind of Taang, where they're all celebrating the end of the war, and Aang remembers that along with the war came the genocide of the Air Nomads but...this was too cute to pass up, and I just love the sibling relationship between Zuko and Azula._

_Gah, my next one will be a Taang, honest. I've sorely been neglecting that pairing, and really need to write some more for it._

_Please read and review, your comments, as always, are greatly appreciated and add quite a lot to my day._

_Happy Fourth of July everyone!_

_To Liberty, Freedom, and the Pursuit of Happiness! Cheers!_

_~Téa_


End file.
